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The appeal of professionalism for investors

1st September 2009 | back to article listings BACK    print this article PRINT

For those investing in buy-to-let properties, a whole range of factors could determine whether a landlord is successful. Purchasing for long-term capital gains is one element that has been rammed home by the failures of those who sought to make a quick buck as the credit crunch approached. The need to find property in the right location is another matter. So too is the suitability of a home for the potential custom base.

But besides all of these factors, the reputation of the sector is also important, with the danger being that would-be renters could be put off by bad experiences.

Naturally enough, it may be imagined, bodies seeking to protect the industry from this have their concerns about the presence of rogue landlords and have been seeking solutions.

One such body is the National Landlords' Association (NLA), which has just set up a new online database of members. Its concern is that tenants may be told by landlords that they are NLA members when this is not the case. The upshot has been that the body has made the database available so such claims can be verified or refuted.

NLA chairman David Salusbury said: "Not only does the database provide tenants with a level of security that a landlord is bound by certain standards of practice, but it also offers our landlord members the chance to demonstrate current or potential tenants that they are part of the cream of the crop in the lettings business."

Another proposal is that there should be a national register, an arrangement advocated by the Association of Residential Lettings Agents (Arla). Commenting on this, operations manager Ian Potter stated that consumer protection is of "paramount" priority.

He added: "Exploitation of vulnerable tenants by a small minority of landlords undermines the professionalism of the broader sector and creates the negative consumer perceptions that have sometimes blighted the rental market."

Mr Potter added that what is also required is greater public knowledge of regulations, observing that "95 per cent of consumers were unaware that you need absolutely no qualifications to be a lettings agent".

Such efforts may be an important part in sustaining the strength of the lettings industry and therefore such a national database may make a difference. For investors, the achievement of this could be one more way of helping to ensure that their rental properties remain in demand and enable them to get a good return on their acquisitions.

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